Review

There’s a lot of expectation that’s been heaped on Gears Of War. For Microsoft, who have splashed the cash on a major advertising blitz, it’s the biggest game since Halo 2 and the title they hope will make people buy a 360. If a game isn’t going to buckle under the weight of such hype then it needs to be something pretty damn special and you first impressions of Gears Of War are that it may just succeed.

The least surprising aspect is how awesome it all looks. Epic Games have, through the Unreal series, always been a developer capable of advancing visuals far beyond what we thought was possible. I remember UT 2004 on the PC being the best-looking F.P.S. on the market for well over a year! Put simply: you can forget about everything you’ve seen on the 360 so far: Ghost Recon; Fight Night and PGR all look last generation compared to this!

So far most 360 games have looked good but not great if played on a regular TV, (a great deal of them have looked no better than a regular Xbox!) – but even then you can’t fail to be impressed with GoW. I especially liked the simulated handheld camera effect when you run; it helps to heighten the feeling of being stuck in the middle of a battle. Whack it on an HD-TV though and the results are astounding!

Behind the visuals though, lies a fairly basic run and shoot game. This isn’t meant as a criticism, I’ve grown tired of the countless 3D shooter titles that have required a mammoth tutorial to teach us all the controls. Being able to just pick up the control pad and start shooting Locust is as refreshing as it is enjoyable. On the whole, the controls are perfect, making running around, ducking behind cover and shooting incredibly easy. If I had to moan about anything then it would be the fact that you have to duck down behind a wall before you can vault over it, but this is something that can be fixed in the inevitable sequel!

Other minor niggles concern the level design, which makes it completely obvious when a firefight is about to ensue, as there are plenty of upturned tables and small walls to hide behind. Also, what’s the point in having team-mates that require medical attention if they are just going to jump up and be fine the moment you kill the last enemy in an attack? I’ve even heard some people moan that it’s far too short, but personally I think it’s just right as it leaves you wanting more… and more is the multiplayer!

Again, this is where Epic’s Unreal experience pay dividends as this is the online multiplayer game that Ghost Recon wanted to be. There’s no loss in detail whatsoever in the visuals and the excellent level design makes for some hugely entertaining battles. If you don’t fancy that then you could go for the cooperative mode and some nice easy achievement points if you like!

Gears Of War is an excellent game and easily recommended. Visually it’s the new benchmark by which all other 360 games will be measured and I found it to be a far more enjoyable single player game than either Halo or Halo 2!

About the Review

Platform

Microsoft Xbox 360

Developer

Epic Games

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Released

17th November 2006